Page 56 of Red Velvet

I keep my eyes on him, observing as he slowly relaxes, his shoulders losing their tension and his head lowering. He stands like that for a few moments, looking crestfallen and lost.

"Leave, you idiot," I hiss, knowing full well he can't hear me.

Nonetheless, he seemingly reacts to my words, moving right after I've uttered them. But he doesn't turn to leave. Instead, he takes two steps forward, and just as I think he's about to ring her doorbell, he goes down on his knees and picks something up. I'm too far away to see what it is, especially since he has his back to me.

But whatever it is seems precious enough to take with him. He shoves the find in his pocket and finally makes his way down the stairs, running in the other direction.

Chapter 30

Lila

What the hell was that last night?

My heart was still pounding wildly when I finally reached the safety of my home. I locked the door to my apartment, even engaging the security lock that—ironically—Jim bought when his mother was convinced we'd moved into a bad neighborhood.

I never thought I'd ever use it to protect myself from him. And it was probably needless anyway, because I asked him for the keys when he moved out. But in my state of paranoia, it didn't seem completely out of the question that he might still have a spare I didn't think of. The security lock, however, could only be opened from the inside.

I was close to tears, unraveled and still in shock about what happened. All my contemplating about where I stand with Kade suddenly seemed so silly, and so far away.

God, how much I wanted him to be with me last night.

I wished I didn't have to send him away, but I'm still convinced it was the right thing to do before they ended up in a fistfight. There was too much built-up tension poisoned with a heavy dose of testosterone, a blend that could’ve easily exploded and taken the whole situation out of my hands. I was only in control as long as they didn't get physical. Sending Kade away prevented such an escalation. I was glad I did it.

Until I realized my phone was gone.

I needed a few breaths to calm down, and after I did, my first impulse was to let Kade know I was okay. I reached into my purse, searching for my phone. But it wasn't there.

I knew I had it with me that night, because I always have my phone on me. I never leave the house without it.

I couldn't remember if I took it out at some point during the evening, but if I did, it was probably at the restaurant. Maybe I’d left it there? Maybe it’d fallen out of my purse somewhere? It could be in Kade's car, too.

Or someone stole it. But where and when? I doubt there were any pickpockets at such an upscale restaurant.

Not being able to contact Kade drove me crazy, but there was nothing I could do about it. I don't know his phone number by heart, and I don't have his e-mail or any other way to contact him.

And I was so freaking tired last night that I decided to let future-Lila deal with it. I needed to get some sleep because, boy trouble or not, I still needed to show up at work.

When I got ready this morning, there was another thing that caught my eye and that probably could’ve been prevented if I hadn’t sent Kade away.

I'm still wearing the collar—and I have no way of taking it off.

A new wave of panic washed over me, and I even considered calling in sick for the day, because there’s no way I could show up at the office like this. The collar’s small and elegant, but it still stands out, and it's obvious that it's not a regular necklace, even to the unsuspecting eye.

The only thing I could think of to hide the telltale piece of jewelry was to opt for my short-sleeved turtleneck dress

“He treats you like a fucking dog.”

Of all the things Jim said, those words echo the loudest inside my head, awakening doubts that might’ve hidden in some corner of my mind ever since I started playing with Kade.

Am I going too far? Are we going too far? Was Jim right when he said my family worries about me? When did he even talk to Elene? And why did she never tell me about it? Is she keeping secrets?

"Morning."

Sybil's piping voice cuts into my train of thought, forcing me to return to reality for a moment to greet her as I reach my desk. I give her an innocent smile, trying to appear worry-free. "Morning to you."

"Had a good weekend?" she asks, smirking. I know she's still waiting to hear anything juicy regarding my love life, but today is certainly not the right day to let her in on any of that.

I just nod, still smiling as I open my e-mail inbox to get started with my tasks for the day. "Yes, very relaxing. You?"

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